On May 15, 2025, the Institute of Balkan Studies & Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences held a public lecture by Professor Peter Schreiner, a visiting foreign Bulgarian Studies scholar. Professor Schreiner is a world-renowned scholar in the field of Byzantine and European medieval studies, a Doctor Honoris Causa of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo. For his outstanding services to the study of medieval Bulgarian history and the past of Samuil’s Bulgaria, on October 3, 2024, he was awarded an honorary badge by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Prof. Schreiner is the author of dozens of books and over 1000 studies, articles and reviews. With his numerous publications, he convincingly shows the exceptional role of medieval Bulgaria and the Bulgarians in the history and culture of the European Southeast. For many years, he was president of the International Association for Byzantine Studies and editor-in-chief of the prestigious Byzantinische Zeitschrift journal.
In his lecture on “John Skylitses and Bulgaria”, Prof. Schreiner analyzed the significance of the Sofia copy of the chronicle of John Skylitses, kept in the National History Museum, for the history of the last years of the First Bulgarian State. He also referred to the forthcoming publication of his study on the subject in German and Bulgarian.
The public lecture of Professor Peter Schreiner with the special participation of Acad. Vasil Gyuzelev, his long-time scientific partner, was organized jointly with the Faculty of History of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in implementation of the “Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad” National Science Programme.
